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wheedle. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wheedle, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wheedle in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
wheedle you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Uncertain. Perhaps continuing Middle English wedlen (“to beg, ask for alms”), from Old English wǣdlian (“to be poor, be needy, be in want, beg”), from Proto-Germanic *wēþlōną (“to be in need”).
Alternatively (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?), borrowed from German wedeln (“to wag one's tail”), from Middle High German wedelen, a byform of Middle High German wadelen (“to wander, waver, wave, whip, stroke, flutter”), from Old High German wādalōn (“to wander, roam, rove”). In this case, it may be a doublet of waddle, or an independently formed etymological equivalent.
The ⟨wh⟩ spelling (reflecting pronunciations with /ʍ/) is apparently unetymological. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “What is the origin of the "wh"?”)
Pronunciation
Verb
wheedle (third-person singular simple present wheedles, present participle wheedling, simple past and past participle wheedled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery.
I’d like one of those, too, if you can wheedle him into telling you where he got it.
- (transitive) To obtain by flattery, guile, or trickery.
1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC, Act III, scene xviii, page 51:If the worſt come to the worſt,—I'll turn my Wife to Graſs—I already have a deed of Settlement of the beſt part of her Eſtate; which I wheadl'd out of her; [...]
Derived terms
Translations
cajole
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
- Czech: přemluvit (cs) pf, přesvědčit (cs) pf
- Dutch: please add this translation if you can
- Finnish: lirkutella (fi)
- French: please add this translation if you can
- Galician: please add this translation if you can
- German: überreden (de), beschwatzen (de), umschmeicheln (de), schmeicheln (de), herumkriegen
- Hungarian: hízeleg (hu)
- Korean: please add this translation if you can
- Latin: lactō
- Maori: pīnono
- Norwegian: please add this translation if you can
- Romanian: flata (ro), linguși (ro)
- Russian: подли́зываться (ru) impf (podlízyvatʹsja), подлиза́ться (ru) pf (podlizátʹsja), обха́живать (ru) impf (obxáživatʹ), ублажа́ть (ru) impf (ublažátʹ), прельща́ть (ru) impf (prelʹščátʹ)
- Scots: tice
- Spanish: engatusar (es), camelar (es)
- Ukrainian: підлещуватися (pidleščuvatysja), ластитися (lastytysja)
- Welsh: please add this translation if you can
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obtain by guile or trickery
Noun
wheedle (plural wheedles)
- (archaic) A coaxing person.
Anagrams